Intermittent Rock Report – July 31, 2003
Greetings, loyal followers. The biggest music news of the past week was the MTV Video Music Award nominations. Dominating the list are Missy Elliot and Eminem (big surprise). Optimistically, there's a strong showing from Coldplay, Queens Of The Stone Age, and Johnny Cash. Let's hear it for the Man In Black, whose "Hurt" video reduces even the most stoic people to tears, especially now that his wife June has gone to the big Hootenanny in the sky. Winners announced August 28.
New Releases 7/29
It's a thin week for new albums, with just as many to ridicule as there are to anticipate. It's been a while since Blue Rodeo made a buzz, but last year's Palace of Gold was celebrated
Greetings, loyal followers. The biggest music news of the past week was the MTV Video Music Award nominations. Dominating the list are Missy Elliot and Eminem (big surprise). Optimistically, there's a strong showing from Coldplay, Queens Of The Stone Age, and Johnny Cash. Let's hear it for the Man In Black, whose ""Hurt"" video reduces even the most stoic people to tears, especially now that his wife June has gone to the big Hootenanny in the sky. Winners announced August 28.
New Releases 7/29
It's a thin week for new albums, with just as many to ridicule as there are to anticipate. It's been a while since Blue Rodeo made a buzz, but last year's Palace of Gold was celebrated as a return to form. For some reason, the band re-releases their less-than-a-year-old album with bonus tracks on Tuesday. This time around, the record is on Rounder, presumably with more label support.
Who knew hair band never-were's Britny Fox would still be around, desperately trying to build off their 1988 Metal Edge Best New Band award? Maybe there'll be a single on Springhead Motorshark that captures the glory of ""Long Way to Love"" or ""Girlschool.""
The Karl Hendricks Trio, a perpetually indie band that isn't always a trio, release The Jerks Win Again on Merge. Early reports indicate a move to a wider sound, but with their signature guitars.
Anyone worried about Nerf Herder since the demise of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, for which they performed the theme song, can rejoice in this week's re-release of My EP on Honest Don's. With titles like ""I've Got a Boner for Christmas"" and ""Bridge Under Troubled Water"", it sounds like more of the same from the Weezer soundalikes.
If you're like me, you've frequently said to yourself, ""I know Frank Stallone is a hit-maker with few peers, but I wonder how he would sound singing well-known standards a la Frank Sinatra and Bobby Darin?"" Well wonder no more, dear friends, as Simba re-releases Stallone's In Love In Vain, presumably to quiet the maddening crowds hungry for big band interpretations by C-rate actors.
Live Performances
Thursday 7/31 provides Seattle's discriminating live music connoisseur several options. Distinctive Virginian Erin McKeon holds court at the Crocodile Cafe. Ska holdovers The Aquabats visit Graceland with Fairview. And most notably, New York's Hem begin their first proper American tour at the Tractor with Leona Naess, who will preview her upcoming album.
Friday 8/1 – Vashon Island singer/songwriter Ian Moore plays the Sunset Tavern, his unofficial venue of choice when he crosses the Sound. (My friend Chelsea will surely be there, so if you see her, say hello for me.) If you miss Moore this time around, don't fret. He'll be back for Bumbershoot 2003, as part of the festival's best lineup in years.
Saturday 8/2 – Bellevue's most successful prog-metal band Queensryche returns with its original lineup at the Paramount. Apparently, everyone came to their senses after failed solo attempts and realized the only way to make money was nightly performances of ""Silent Lucidity"". I remember when Operation Mindcrime was the best concept album around, an adverse accolade if ever there was one. Fellow out-of-touch metal bands Fates Warning and Dream Theater share the bill.
If you love contemporary jazz, you'll be in heaven at KWJX's Smooth Jazz Fest. Unfortunately, and inexplicably, the Marymoor Park event is sold out. I'll bet the scalpers are pushovers though – David Sanborn fans are total pussies.
Upcoming
Tickets are on sale at the Showbox for Social Distortion's return to the Northwest 9/9. Internet-only sales continue until August 2nd. Tickets are going fast for this all-ages show – George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic will blow your mind at the Showbox 9/21. And one of my favorite musicians, Leo Kottke, has announced he will play acoustically-perfect Benaroya Hall next April.
What A-Law Is Listening To
It's hard to believe it's been a full decade since The Breeders released Last Splash. I listened to it for the first time in a while recently and was reminded the album is near-perfect. I never owned a copy myself, but that winter of 1993 was so perfectly contained in the record's barely 40 minutes, I couldn't go anywhere without hearing it blast from open dorm-room doors. After a couple spins, I was reminded how much fun it was to skip all the lectures, get drunk on Boone's Strawberry Hill, and write those term papers with nary an hour to spare.
